Football Headline

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The game had been over for more than 30 minutes
when Gators senior linebacker Jon Bostic emerged from the locker room late
Saturday night.

Florida's 31-17 win
over Vanderbilt was in the books. The No. 4-ranked Gators improved to 6-0 and
would soon depart for the return trip home with sole possession of the SEC East
lead thanks to South Carolina's 23-21 loss at LSU.

Bostic stood on the
field showered by cheers from a few Florida fans still camped out in the south
end zone at Vanderbilt Stadium. Some of Bostic's teammates relaxed nearby,
chowing on their postgame meals.

Another day's work
was complete.

Bostic said the
Gators never panicked when they fell behind in the first quarter to the
Commodores, who lost for the 22nd consecutive time to Florida. He said they
remained confident despite playing without three starting offensive linemen.
When Vanderbilt wouldn't go away in the fourth quarter, Bostic never sensed the
Gators about to crumble.

They lost games like
this last year and the year before. Two difficult seasons that Bostic uses as
motivation.

When reminded that
Saturday's win matched the Gators' regular-season win total from a year ago, he
smiled. He hadn't thought of that.

Still, he offered
some perspective on how fast Florida's turnaround has come.

"That's good
for us,'' Bostic said. "We weren't happy with our results from last year.
We had plenty of chances to win games last year and penalties, and all types of
stupid mistakes hurt us.

"This year we
have been playing a lot smarter but we've still got to keep improving."

There is plenty to
improve upon from Saturday.

Florida committed 10
penalties, finished only two of 11 on third-down conversions, and for the
second consecutive game, sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel (11 of 20, 77
yards) passed for less than 100 yards.

When is the last
time that happened and the Gators won both games?

Most outsiders
looked at Saturday's trip to Vanderbilt as a classic trap game for the Gators.

Senior defensive
tackle Omar Hunter said that's not the way the Gators approached it coming off
an upset win over then-No. 4 LSU last week and with a home game against South
Carolina on tap next weekend at The Swamp.

"Any time you
come off a big win at home and you come to a place like Vanderbilt, people
think your expectations are going to be lower,'' Hunter said. "To us, it
was a huge game."

The Gators didn't
dominate Vanderbilt the way they have over the years. But they did enough to record
their fourth SEC comeback victory of the season.

Driskel ran for 177
yards -- a single-game rushing record for a Florida quarterback -- including
touchdown runs of 37, 13 and 70 yards. Caleb Sturgis added three field goals
and the Gators erased the early deficit when Trey Burton scored on a two-point
conversion after Driskel's first touchdown run.

The Gators did what
they had to do to get the job done. Another grind-it-out SEC road win.

"That's our
style,'' Hunter said.

Gators coach Will
Muschamp will take it. He knows road wins in the SEC don't come easily and the
Gators now have three of them.

This one featured
Driskel's legs and a defense that kept Vanderbilt at bay while the Gators scored
21 consecutive points following the Commodores' early score.

"There is a
very, very fine line between winning and losing,'' Muschamp said. "There
really is. You take Jeff's [70-yard] run right there out of the game. It's a
fine line between winning and losing. We made the plays when we had to make
them."

Now the spotlight
will shine even brighter on with South Carolina and former Gators coach Steve
Spurrier coming to town. While the Gamecocks' loss dampened the hoopla that
would have come with both teams being undefeated, the Gamecocks can still win
the SEC East.

They will try to
start by beating the Gators, who passed another test Saturday by not folding
when Vanderbilt kept pressing.

"We've got a
lot of season to go and some tough opponents starting next week with South
Carolina,'' Muschamp said. "I'm very pleased with where we are. Have we arrived?
Absolutely not. We have some serious issues we need to work out within our
team.

"I'm talking
about some personnel, some schematic, and a lot of things we need to improve
on. We need to continue to work and the good thing about our guys -- and I say
it all the time -- they will work."

That's the biggest
difference Muschamp sees in his second Florida team than his first. The players
are driving the ship more. They believe they can overcome any obstacles thrown
their way during a game.

"That's where we
are a different organization,'' Muschamp said. "I feel very comfortable
about how our locker room is going to be handled right now. I didn't feel that
way last year."

The results have
proven that.

So has the team's
mindset. Falling behind early on the road in the SEC often turned into a defeat
last year. Not now.

"The game isn't
won in the first quarter,'' Bostic said as he began the long walk toward the
bus following another win.